Life with Mobs
by Maxforce
Summary: Neil is a human who has never met another human. He's lived with a zombie for seven years of his life and likes to help others. This story follows his life as he begins to meet mobs who are like his roommate. Based on mob talker. Has minor language.
1. Chapter 1

Neil woke up, stretching his back and yawning. He rubbed his eyes, wincing as he opened them to the sun shining in his room. Which was a problem, seeing as his window faced to the west. "Well, fuck," he said, stumbling out of his bedroom and down the stairs to see his roommate, a young slender man with green hair, blue pants, and a blue hoodie, the hood green, the pattern resembling a zombie's face, chewing on a piece of bread. "Yaebi, what time is it?"

"Evening," Yaebi answered, sparing a glance in Neil's direction. "The mayor stopped by earlier, asking where you were."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What'd you tell him?" Neil asked as he sat down in the chair on the other side of the table, running his hands through his brown messy hair.

Yaebi shrugged. "Somefing abou' a ca'e," he mumbled around his bread.

"Cake?"

"Cave," Yaebi clarified after swallowing. Neil groaned, letting his head slam onto the table. Yaebi just smirked. "So, what _were_ you doing so late last night?" Neil looked up, a victorious grin on his face.

"I was getting the materials we need to get to the Nether," he said.

"What? But…I thought…wasn't that just a legend?" Yaebi asked, leaning forward, while Neil leaned back, hooking his hands together behind his head, shaking his head slowly.

"Nnnope. I lit it last night. It works!"

"So, when do we leave?!" Neil's face then fell and he slammed his head into the table again.

"About that," he said, his voice muffled. "A creeper blew up and the explosion knocked out the portal. And in my haste to leave, I accidentally put four more obsidian blocks in it…and…yeah." Yaebi looked at Neil before sitting back down in his chair, sighing.

"Notch damn it, Neil…"

"I panicked!" Neil said, raising his arms in defense. "But now we know that it's possible to go to the Nether!" Neil's voice raise in pitch a bit, cracking in his excitement. Yaebi laughed.

"Calm down, man," Yaebi said, standing up from the table, looking out the window to see rain clouds rolling in. Yaebi winced as he heard the sound of an Enderman teleporting around in the rain. "I hope that isn't someone I know." Neil looked at Yaebi as he continued to stare out the window, looking for the source of the noise. Neil had met Yaebi seven years ago, when he was eleven. Up to that point, Neil had never seen another human, having been raised for as long as he could remember by the testificates of the village just over the hill. Neil and the village's farmer had been inspecting the crops when Neil decided to try to balance on the fences, falling off on the other side and nearly landing on Yaebi, who was unconscious, a gash on his head. The villagers had taken Yaebi in and nursed him back to good health. Yaebi was actually a zombie, but looked and functioned much like a human did. The other villagers were always wary of Yaebi, save for the mayor, the farmer, and the doctor. Over time, Neil became good friends with Yaebi and when he was sixteen, he had asked the mayor for permission to move out on his own and build his own home. He offered Yaebi a room as well, since most of the village wasn't too fond of Yaebi. And so, they had left the village and walked over the hills surrounding the village, choosing a spot behind the hill. They were close enough to the village to help them, but far enough away that they were able to keep their privacy. During their two years living together, Neil had been introduced to what were usually hostile mobs that Yaebi had befriended.

"Achoo!"

"Bless you," Neil said, his eyes now closed as he sat back to turn his thoughts to the Nether.

"That wasn't me," Yaebi said. Neil opened his eyes, looking at the front door.

"Well, if it wasn't you, then…is someone at the door?" he asked as he saw a shadow through the door's frosted glass. He got up, grabbing his shirt from the back of the couch, putting it on as he got to the door. He opened it to see the back of someone wearing a green hoodie that went down to their thighs. They hadn't noticed him yet and they were holding their arms, shivering. "Can I help you?"

"Eep!" The figure turned around to look at Neil, who simply looked back. It was a girl, probably only a year or two younger than himself, her hair color orange, her eye color matching that of her hair. Her hood looked like a creeper's face and she was looking at Neil, worry in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry! It's just, it was raining and cold and-"

"Whoa, slow down," Neil said as the words began to jumble, having trouble deciphering what she was saying. "It's alright, it's alright. You shouldn't be out here, not when it's getting this dark and the weather being what it is. Come on in," he moved back, gesturing her in. He looked back at Yaebi, who moved to light the fireplace with some flint and steel, then walking back into the kitchen to get something for their new guest to eat.

"But…but my friend is still out there," the girl said, slowly backing away from Neil. Neil reached behind the door and the girl's expression turned to panic as she saw a handle in his hand. Neil pulled the rest of the item from behind the door, a red umbrella.

"Is your friend nearby?" he asked, walking out onto the porch with the girl, looking around the yard. He spotted a figure huddled under the tree beside the gravel walkway, another girl, this one taller than the red head on his porch. "Ah, is that her under the tree?" The girl nodded, looking at Neil with a look of confusion. "Alright. You go on in, I'll get your friend, alright?" Neil smiled at her, walking off the porch and opening the umbrella.

"B-but!" The girl felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Yaebi holding a plate with a hot pork chop on it. He shook his head.

"Just come on in," he said. "Neil isn't one to leave someone alone if they look like they're in need of help." The girl followed him in, turning back to look at Neil walking down the walkway.

"Hey, there," Neil said as he arrived at the tree. The girl was wearing all black, a turtle neck and miniskirt, her hat with two purple rectangles on it covering her brown hair, the hair reaching almost to her waist. Neil noted that her eyes were a deep purple as she turned to look at him, immediately blushing and turning away, burying her face into her knees. Neil scratched his head. "Uh, miss?"

"P-p-please don't stare at me," the girl stuttered, her shoulders scrunched. "I-I only want to stay here u-until the weather c-clears…"

"Well, that's fine and all, but you'll catch cold out here," Neil said, walking under the tree with her, his hand hooking under her shoulder. "It's much warmer inside, I promise. And your friend is already in there. We've got a fire going and you can stay there tonight." Neil gently pulled her up onto her feet, smiling as she gave him a side glance. He noted off hand that she was a bit taller than he was. "Yaebi and I are harmless, promise." He then let go of her arm, walking back onto the walkway. He turned to look at her. "Well?"

"Um…I…I don't like to get wet," she said, looking down at the ground, her left foot rubbing the back of her right calf. She looked up as the handle of the umbrella was suddenly in her view to see Neil offering it to her.

"Then take the umbrella," he said. She took it slowly and Neil gestured towards the house and started walking back to the porch, the girl behind him. "I'm Neil, by the way."

"A-Andr."

"Well, Andr, welcome to my home," Neil said with a smile as he made it onto the porch, pulling his shirt off and wringing it out over a bucket. He laid it on the swing at the end of the porch, walking through the front door, Andr behind him as she closed the umbrella, avoiding the water on it. "Just put it in the bin," Neil said, pointing at the small cylinder that held a second umbrella in it. Andr did as told, looking around the room she was in. She saw her friend was now eating a slice of cake, a smile on her face as she licked icing off of her lips. Neil ran upstairs, Andr hearing doors opening and shutting.

"Welcome, miss," Yaebi said as he walked in with another plate of pork chop, handing it to Andr with a smile. "Cupa was just explaining to me that you two just happened to be passing by."

"Yaebi, where hell are did I put our spare beds?" Neil yelled from upstairs.

"Basement!" Yaebi yelled back. Neil came down the stairs, his hand on his face in embarassment.

"Right," he said as he looped around the stairs, now going down.

"Forgive Neil, he's a little…um…well, he's Neil," Yaebi said with a chuckle. "I'm Yaebi, if Neil's yell didn't make it immediately obvious."

"I-I'm Andr," Andr said, taking a seat on the couch beside Cupa, the girl with the green hoodie. She looked at the pork chop before picking it up, nibbling on it.

"So," Yaebi said as he sat in one of the armchairs, Andr looking at him. "Which mobs are you two?" Andr dropped her pork chop, while Cupa looked at Yaebi in shock, dropping her plate, the plate making a thunk as it hit the carpet. "It's okay!" Yaebi said quickly, waving his hands when he saw Cupa and Andr were both getting ready to bolt. "I'm a zombie!" They looked at him, looks of disbelief on their faces. "No, really, I am! I'm just like you!"

Andr looked at Cupa and Cupa looked at Andr, before they both returned their attention to Yaebi. "E-enderman," Andr replied.

"Creeper…" was Cupa's soft reply. Yaebi's eyes widened.

"So, you _are_ just like me!" he exclaimed, whooping. They looked at him, confused. "I thought I was the only one!" He then looked at Andr, realization dawning on his face. "_You're_ the one I heard teleporting when the rain started!" Andr nodded. They all looked at the stairs as they heard Neil's grumbling, Neil slowly stomping back up the steps. "You set off your own traps, didn't you?"

"No, but I did just have a tugging match with that damn rat!" Neil said, pulling out a miniaturized bed. "Why do we let him stay down there, again?"

"Because he keeps the other rats from raiding our food supplies," Yaebi answered, before he smirked at Neil.

"What?"

Yaebi pointed at Andr and Cupa. "They're just like me, Neil!" Neil dropped the bed in shock, looking at the two girls, terror once again on their faces.

"They're zombies, too?" Neil asked.

"Nope. Enderman and a creeper!" Yaebi said, grinning.

"That's…" Andr and Cupa once again made ready to bolt as Neil slowly got over his shock. "_Awesome_!" They both fell off the couch in shock. Usually, they'd be running from arrows and swords at this point. "Are you two okay?" he asked as he ran around the couch to help them up.

"You're…you're not going to attack us?" Cupa asked, looking at his hand in fear.

Neil frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"W-well," Andr spoke up, "humans don't really like mobs like us…" She looked up as Neil suddenly grabbed her shoulders, kneeling in front of her. Her entire face reddened as Neil's own face was only a couple inches away from hers.

"You've met other humans?" he asked, completely serious. "Humans like me, not the villagers?" Andr slowly nodded, too scared and embarrassed to move. "Which direction? How long ago? How many were there?" He bombarded her with questions and she remained mute, frozen in place. He felt Yaebi's hand on his shoulder now.

"I think you might want to back up a bit," Yaebi said. Neil looked back at Andr to see that she was terrified of him right now. He quickly let go, backing up and apologizing.

"I'm sorry!" He rubbed the back of his head, laughing at what he had just done. "It's just…I've never met another human, so…I mean, I always wondered if there were others out there like me, ya know? It's…it makes you feel lonely, wondering if you're the only one of your kind…" Andr and Cupa slowly relaxed, nodding. They knew how Neil felt. They were like him, wondering if there were others just like them. Yaebi was frowning at Neil right now. He slapped the back of Neil's head.

"Idiot. I know how exciting this kind of news is, but these girls have quite obviously had bad experiences with other humans," Yaebi said, scolding his roommate. "You at least have to try to be a little sensitive, dude." Neil nodded, embarrassed at his behavior.

"Again, I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head towards the two girls.

"It's fine," Cupa said, Neil looking up at her to see a smile on her face. "We get it."

"W-we went through the same thing before meeting each other," Andr said, nodding. "We don't really go around announcing what we are. Bad things happen to mobs." Neil looked at Andr and Cupa, confused.

"But…why? Mobs aren't all bad," he said. "I mean, you two seem pretty harmless. And then there's Yaebi. I've known him for seven years now. And he's introduced me to other mobs. Well…mobs that don't look like humans, at least. Like that stupid rat downstairs." Neil stood there, quiet, grumbling under his breath before exhaling. "Anyways. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need. Though the guest rooms aren't quite done yet. We…we don't actually have any guest rooms. You're welcome to set up a bed where you can find the room and I can get to work on spare rooms tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Cupa said, smiling again. Neil handed her and Andr a bed apiece.

"Anyways, if you need me, my room is upstairs, third door on the right. Yaebi sleeps on this floor. It's the door right beside the stairs. There's two bathrooms upstairs, on the opposite side of the hall from my room and one down here, right beside Yaebi's room. If you get hungry later on, just help yourself to whatever you can find in the kitchen. If it isn't marked, it's free game," Neil said.

* * *

**And that is a story idea I've had for almost a year now. It's gone through multiple identities and at least two rewrites before arriving at this form. Whoo! The language should be minor enough that this can stay as a K+ story. There won't be a lot of violence either, so there's no reason to up it to T, unless I start adding WAY more language into this. Other mobs will slowly be introduced, but this story has no definitive plot. There is no endgame to this story. It's just something to write in my spare time. Will there be romance? I don't know. Will there be changes in the future to the rating? Maybe. Will this be marked as complete and as a one-shot? It could be, it just depends on how well this does and how much fun I have writing for it. Which, I actually had a good bit of fun with this chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Neil woke up to the sound of rain, checking the clock on his nightstand. It was just turning seven o'clock and he sighed, realizing he'd either have to wait until tomorrow to build the spare rooms or go out in the rain and possibly catch a cold. He walked downstairs, rubbing his eyes as he reached the bottom. He then stopped, looking down at Cupa, who had decided to place her bed right at the bottom of the stairs, for what reason, he couldn't guess. Andr had placed her bed right beside Cupa's. Both were still sleeping soundly, wrapped in the covers of their beds. He slowly sidestepped to his right, skirting the bed's edge until he was past the foot of it. "I know I said just put 'em wherever, but I didn't think they'd just put them down _here_ of all places," he mumbled, yawning. As he walked into the kitchen, he heard Yaebi coming out of his own room, closing the door with a soft click behind him. "Mornin'."

"Same to you," Yaebi said, suppressing a laugh when he noticed just where their guests had placed their beds. "Wow. That looks like it was fun to get over. You jump over 'em?" Yaebi grinned, imagining the scene in his head.

"Nah, just sidestepped." Yaebi frowned, disappointed.

"Well, damn. Least my way coulda been funny," Yaebi said, while Neil shrugged. "So, how long are we going to let them sleep?"

"As long as they want. It looks like last night was the first time they've been able to sleep in relative comfort for a long time." Neil went about pulling ingredients out of the ice box and cabinets, as well as cooking utensils and a mixing bowl. On the counter, he set down eggs, some flour and other ingredients for pancakes, as well as some fruit that he had picked recently. "Eggs over easy or scrambled today, bud?"

"Surprise me," Yaebi replied, taking a seat at the table.

"Scrambled it is." Neil began cracking eggs. "Any idea on when this rain is supposed to stop?"

"It stops when it stops."

"Gee, that's real specific," Neil deadpanned as he began to whisk the eggs. He set them down, turning the stove on, using the front two eyes, placing a pan on each. With that done, he began to mix the pancake ingredients together, pouring a glass of milk before putting that ingredient up. He held his hand over the pans, nodding in satisfaction as he felt the heat coming off of them. He poured out the eggs in one pan and began cooking a pancake in the other, switching his attention between the two every few seconds. Yaebi stretched, a smile floating to his face.

"Always nice when I don't have to cook," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"You say that, but I still need you to at least turn on the toaster."

Yaebi gave an exaggerated sigh. "But it's so faaaar," he whined, lazily reaching a hand in the general direction of the toaster. Neil rolled his eyes, Yaebi getting up to toast a few slices of bread.

"E-excuse me," Andr said from the doorway, hiding herself behind it, her head and hands the only thing visible.

"Oh, good morning," Neil said with a smile. He then frowned. "We didn't wake you, did we?"

"Correction. _Neil_ didn't wake you, did he?" Yaebi asked as he pulled the toaster's lever down.

"N-no. I'm just…kind of a light sleeper," Andr answered as she shook her head. "I was woken up by the smell coming from in here."

"Any reason you're hiding behind the door frame?" Neil asked as he began another pancake, then scooping the eggs into a serving bowl. Andr slowly moved her body into view, her hands now being held together, her fingers fidgeting.

"S-sorry," she said, looking at the ground. "It's…habit…"

"Are all Ender…uh...people this shy?" Neil asked, looking at Yaebi, who shrugged.

"I've only ever met the one Enderman. Though I guess Andr makes two," Yaebi answered as he gestured to a chair. He then realized Andr was still looking at the ground, so he rapped the table with his knuckles, clearing his throat to get her to look up. He nodded to the chair again, giving her a gentle smile. She walked over and sat down slowly, wincing as the chair made a scraping noise as she pulled it and herself closer to the table.

"Sorry," she mumbled once more. Her head slowly turned as her eyes explored the kitchen. "Your house is very nice…"

"Thanks. Built it ourselves!" Neil said with a grin as he set the bowl of eggs on the table, as well as a tower of pancakes. He took a seat for himself while Yaebi shook his head, shrugging.

"Mostly Neil, really. Zombies aren't exactly good at…construction," Yaebi said. "Or maybe it's just me. Neil handles maintenance and manual labor, while I do simple chores and most of the time, I'm the one cooking. Neil just happened to be up before me this time around." Yaebi began cutting up his two pancakes, stopping when he noticed Andr wasn't eating. "Are you full from last night?"

"Huh?" She looked up at him in surprise, having been in her own thoughts. "Sorry?"

"Breakfast. Are you not hungy?"

"O-oh…um…thank you," she said as she took a pancake from the top and a small portion of scrambled eggs. They all ate in silence, Neil enjoying the soft patter of rain on the roof.

"Oh, morning!" he said with a smile. Andr and Yaebi looked to the kitchen door to see Cupa was now awake, her hood down, her hair disheveled. She rubbed at her right eye, yawning.

_Neil sure smiles a lot,_ Andr noted as Cupa sat beside the tall girl. Cupa made a sniffing noise, scrunching her face. "What's burning?" she asked. Neil and Yaebi both made a lunge for the toaster as they realized they'd left it on. Neil was the first there and he pushed the lever up to reveal four pieces of charcoal in the shape of bread slices.

"Well, that's one way to waste bread," Neil sighed as he pulled them out, getting ready to throw them out.

"I'll eat them," Cupa said, holding her plate out to Neil.

"Huh?"

"I love burnt stuff!" she explained, her plate still stretched out to Neil. He shrugged and placed them on her plate and watched with some amusement as she bit into the first piece, her eyes closed in satisfaction of the taste. "Just perfect," she said with a sigh of contentment.

"So, did you girls sleep well enough?" Yaebi asked. They both nodded.

"I haven't slept in such a soft bed before," Cupa replied, sighing once again. "And the blankets were so warm! I'm going to miss that…"

"Miss it?" Neil asked. Andr nodded.

"Once the rain has passed, we'll be leaving," she explained. "We don't want to be a burden."

"More like you're worried Neil will attack you?" Yaebi asked, taking Andr's sharp inhale as a yes. "You really don't have to worry about it. I mean, he's put up with me for seven years. I don't think he'll have a problem with two more added to the mix." Neil suddenly stood up, grabbing an apple from the bowl at the center of the table.

"Back in a sec," he said as he walked to the front door, opening it and stepping out on the porch. "Morning, Frank!" Andr looked at Yaebi, who simply gestured for her to go and see who Neil was talking to herself. She did so and was surprised to see that Neil was talking with an Enderman, said Enderman currently eating the very same apple Neil had taken from the bowl. "Got caught out in the rain, huh?" Neil gave a chuckle as the Enderman, who Andr realized was 'Frank', nodded, making some gestures. "Nah, it's fine. Stay here as long as you need. Sure you still don't wanna come inside, though?" Frank nodded one more time. "Alright, alright. See you around, then. Don't be afraid to knock if you need something." Neil turned around, seeing Andr. "Oh, Andr. Frank, this is Andr. Andr, Frank." Frank gave her a slight bow and a nod, Andr giving one of her own. "Andr's kinda like you, Frank. Just like Yaebi's kinda like a zombie."

"H-hi," she said. Frank walked over, putting a hand on her head. He smiled down at her, speaking in the language that she had grown up with. "O-oh…um…thank you."

"What's he saying?" Neil asked.

"He's just welcoming me to the area."

"Ah." Neil walked past the two, opening the door. "I, uh…I know I said I'd get working on the guest rooms today, but that might not happen with the rain. Hopefully, it'll blow over before noon, but you never know. This area's known for having pretty long rainstorms. Once had one that lasted a week, if you can believe it."

"You don't have to worry about that. Like I said, Cupa and I will leave once the rain passes."

"You really don't have to, you know. Or is there somewhere you're trying to get to?" Neil cocked his head to the side, the door remaining open.

"Well, n-not really," Andr replied, biting her lower lip.

"Then why not stay? I mean, if you're uncomfortable living in the same house, I could build you and Cupa your own. You don't have to keep moving, you know," Neil said.

"I-I just don't want to be a burden…"

"You won't be. Like Yaebi said, I've put up with _him_ for seven years," Neil laughed, smiling.

"Heard that!" Yaebi shouted from the kitchen.

"And Frank's already welcomed you to the area. If that's not an invitation to live here, then I don't know what is!" He looked to Frank for support. Frank nodded, speaking once more.

[You need not fear Neil, young lady] Frank said. [He is strange, but he is trustworthy and dependable. And I would not mind having another Enderbeing to talk with every once in a while. But it is your choice if you stay or go.]

"Andr," Cupa said from the doorway. Andr looked at her friend. "Can…can we stay here? At least for a little while?" Cupa began playing with the hem of her hoodie, revealing a pair of extremely short shorts beneath the hoodie. "I'm tired of running and sleeping in the cold…I'm scared of sleeping outside…" Andr wrapped Cupa in a hug, bending over just far enough for her forehead to rest on the top of Cupa's.

"If you want to stay for a bit, then I guess it can't hurt," Andr said.

"Well, alright then," Neil spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Again, welcome to my and Yaebi's home. However, until I can expand, we're going to need to do something about the placement of your beds."

"Oh, dear!" Andr gasped as she straightened up as she finally realized where the beds had been placed. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize where we had placed them!"

"It's fine, it's fine," Neil said, scratching his chin in thought. "Mmm…how about you two take Yaebi's room for now? He can room upstairs with me or he can have the couch or whatever." He shrugged. "Ah, well. We'll get it worked out later! Let's finish breakfast." He walked back in, waiting for Cupa and Andr to follow before closing the door.

Later that day, Neil was on the porch, looking at the rain with a frown. He pulled on a hoodie, pulling the hood over his head. "Well, not gonna get anything done just standing here," he sighed as he stepped off the porch, heading towards a small stable to the right of the house. It was fenced in, a wooden roof keeping the rain off of the two horses within. One horse was brown, its hair shining in what little light there was. The other was black, a white streak on its face. Neil rubbed the nose of the brown one. "Alright, buddy, we gotta get to the town. Yaebi apparently forgot to mention that the mayor was asking for my help yesterday." The horse gave a snort, as if it understood what Neil was saying. Perhaps it did. "Yeah, he is kinda weird, huh?" Neil chuckled as he pulled the saddle and blanket from their stand, beginning the process of saddling the animal. He double checked all of the straps and buckles, ensuring none of them were too tight or too loose. When he was satisfied, he hooked his left foot into the loop, swinging the rest of his body up and over onto the saddle. He gave a click with his tongue, the horse moving and slowly leading up to a steady trot as rider and steed followed the familiar path to the village.

* * *

**Like I said. This will be updated whenever I get a spark for it.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning, young Neil," the mayor said, sitting down at his desk, Neil taking a seat across from him. The mayor was an old Testificate, his bulbous noise hanging over his grayed mustache, his purple shirt and brown pants somewhat wrinkled. "Thank you for coming out in such dreary weather." The mayor stroked his mustache a bit, staring out the window. "It looks to be a long one, too. May last for another three days." After a moment, he looked back to Neil, giving the young man a smile. "But enough of that. I'm sure you're curious as to why I called you here."

"Well, it did cross my mind, sir," Neil nodded.

"Mmm…as you are aware, villagers have been moving to other towns and villages, some even to cities, in the last three or so years."

"Of course. Doc was the most recent one who left, right?" Neil asked, a slight frown on his face. Doc, as he was so affectionately referred to by Neil, had found Neil at a young age and had brought him back to the village, helping to raise him. Doc had been the closest thing Neil had ever had to a father.

"Indeed. Well, Neil, the last of us will be leaving by week's end. Now, I'm sure that-"

"What?!" Neil exclaimed, jumping from his seat. The mayor smiled once again, but this one was a sad smile.

"The others have decided that it may be time to move on…I am truly sorry, Neil, but this has been agreed upon rather unanimously," the mayor continued. "I and the farmer are the only ones left of the previous generation and those remaining from the next generation, your generation, feel that there is nothing left for them here. I wanted to let you know, to give you time to prepare in case you wanted to come with us."

"And what about Yaebi?"

This time, the mayor sighed. "I am sorry, Neil, but when I brought him up at the final council meeting, I was met with some rather shocked and even hateful glares. The offer extends only to you, as regretful as that is." The mayor sounded pained by his own statement, shaking his head in disappointment. "But I know you well, Neil."

"Yeah…so, the village will be abandoned then?" Neil asked, sitting back down.

"Not, ah…not exactly. That is the _other_ reason that I asked you to stop by. I have been in correspondence with a traveling group of fellow Testificates. After explaining to them that our own village would be empty, they agreed rather happily to moving in and taking over."

"A _traveling_ group?" Neil asked, rather surprised. While it wasn't uncommon for Testificates to move from village to village, even to towns and cities, to hear of a group traveling together was extremely rare, to the point that it was virtually unheard of. "Not just a family?"

"No. A group. A rather good sized one, too. Large enough that they'll be able to run the village once they arrive." The mayor beckoned Neil to lean in closer. "I suspect," he said, his voice lowered, "that they may be like Yaebi."

"As in…"

"They may look human, but they are most _definitely_ Testificates. The correspondence has been happening through a young woman, about your age in fact, who claimed to be a human raised by a group of Testificates. But you know, better than anyone else, that there are telltale signs and a general…feeling, to differentiate between humans and other creatures. She didn't feel human. And she certainly didn't act it, either."

"Well, maybe that's just how she was raised," Neil pointed out, but the mayor shook his head adamantly.

"No, Neil. Humans are a rarity in our time. It is the duty of Testificates to teach them how other humans act. It helps that we look similar to humans and that they taught us much of their ways. But there are certain things that we do impulsively. The noise you hear us make occasionally, for one." The mayor sat back, waiting for Neil's reaction.

"Oh…" Neil sat back as well, processing the information. "Well…when will they be here?"

"In about two weeks. Perhaps less time. We will be out of the village before they show up, however. So do be a good neighbor and offer them help when you can, my boy."

"Of course, mayor," Neil said with a nod. The mayor stood up, his smile back, and he walked around the desk to escort Neil to the door. As they reached the door, Neil suddenly grabbed the old Testificate in a hug. "Thank you, sir, for everything you've done for me."

"It was a pleasure watching over you and Yaebi," the mayor replied, patting Neil's back. "You know, perhaps in another time, you two very well could have ended up as my grandsons."

"Yeah," Neil smiled, releasing him. "Yeah, that would have been fun."

* * *

Andr was currently looking through the books on one of the shelves in what Neil had dubbed the gathering area. She noted that there were quite a few books on building and crafting, assuming that these were what Neil had used to teach himself how to do such things. Cupa was snoring on the couch, while Yaebi was fiddling with a radio he had brought out from his own room, playing with the dial.

"I'm back!" came a call from outside, signaling Neil's arrival back home. Soon enough, he came walking through the front door, dripping wet. "And I am soaked. And cold. I'll be in the shower if anyone needs me." He walked down the hall, leaving a trail of water behind him. The sound of running water soon came from down the hall and steam was escaping from under the door minutes later. "GAH!" came a yell just a few seconds later, followed by squeaking.

"Guess I should have warned him the rat came up earlier," Yaebi mentioned in thought. "Ah, here we are!" He had stopped spinning the dial back and forth, some calming music now playing from it. Andr had wandered over at some point, staring at the radio in fascination.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It's a radio. You can use it to listen to music and whatnot," Yaebi explained, walking over to one of the recliners and taking a seat. "The song playing right now is called 'Far'. It just kind of showed up out of nowhere one day." He let the melody wash over him, smiling gently. "It's by _far_ my favorite song to listen to on a rainy day."

Andr looked at him, letting a smile slip as she shook her head. "That was a bad pun," she chuckled. She joined Cupa on the couch, letting herself lean into the couch, her eyes slowly closing as the song continued on.

She woke up later to see that the rain had finally cleared. Looking around the room, she saw Neil in the second recliner, out like a light, same for Yaebi. Cupa had moved around at some time and was now leaning up against Andr. She gently moved Cupa up a bit, just enough for her stand up. She walked over to the door, stepping out onto the porch. She sat down on the swing, staring up at the now cloudless sky, the full moon lighting up the house and its surrounding area. She swung gently back and forth, appreciating the serenity of the night. Perhaps staying with Neil and Yaebi wouldn't end horribly. So she hoped. She was hesitant to really think that things could be peaceful for long. "But for the time being," she whispered to herself, "maybe I can relax."

* * *

"Alright, ladies, today, we're going to figure out where to put you!" Neil said, standing on the porch as he breathed in the fresh air, feeling invigorated. "Now that the rain has completely passed and it's been a couple days of sunshine, the ground should be more than dry enough." The rain had come in spurts over the course of the last week, finally ending just two days ago. Now that the time had passed, Neil had decided today would be the day that they would get a house built for Andr and Cupa. "Time for some land hunting!"

"Whoo!" Cupa cheered with him, Neil's cheerful mood apparently contagious. Andr just smiled, following Neil and Cupa off of the porch, Yaebi following with a yawn.

The morning was spent looking at possible locations near and around Neil and Yaebi's house. At some point, Cupa had ended up on Neil's shoulders, her left hand shadowing her eyes as she looked around from her perch. She pouted, not seeing any spot that looked good to her. "Man," she whined, hanging her head dejectedly. "There just doesn't seem to be any good spots."

Neil looked up at her. "Well, there's still plenty of spaces to look. And besides, there may be a few houses left in the village after the new group moves in," he said to her, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry too much about it, 'kay?"

Cupa smiled back, nodding. "Got it!"

"Hey, speaking of, should we go see if there's anyone there yet?" Yaebi asked. "The village isn't too far a walk from here."

"Good idea," Neil replied. "The mayor did seem like he wanted us to check in on them from time to time." He looked at Andr. "Are you okay with that, Andr?"

Andr nodded. "That's fine," she smiled. "Cupa was pretty excited when she learned there was a village near here. She loves seeing them."

"Let's go, let's go!" Cupa cheered from Neil's shoulders, pointing forwards, prompting a laugh from Neil as they all made their way to the village.

As the village came into view, they could make out some activity happening. It appeared to be primarily females moving around the village, what looked to be human females at that. Neil moved Cupa off his shoulders, the creeper running a little bit ahead in her excitement. As they reached the entrance, a tall, silvery grey woman was blocking the entrance. Her silver hair was cut short, framing her face, a blockish hat on her head. Her clothes were a dull gray, showing her midriff, her skirt appearing to be slit on her left side, revealing a lighter pair of very short shorts underneath it.

"Is that…an iron golem?" Yaebi pondered as they stopped just a few feet from her. Indeed, her joints appeared to be almost mechanically emphasized.

Neil walked forward to get a closer look. "I don't know…kinda seems like it," he said, moving a hand to touch the golem's shoulder. "Whoa, hey, wait!" The golem had suddenly grabbed Neil, holding him aloft. She then threw him straight up into the air, her eyes glowing red as she regarded the humanlike mobs now standing in front of her.

Yaebi moved in front of Andr and Cupa, gulping. "Of all the times to not bring some kind of defensive weapon," he muttered under his breath.

"Fera, wait!" came a voice from behind the golem. The golem turned to regard a woman in a white robe running up to them, the glow of her eyes dimming, her irises becoming a light shade of fuchsia. The woman's light brown hair was braided into two side tails that were bound together a bit under her chin. "I'm terribly sorry about that," the woman said, catching her breath first, her glasses almost falling off her nose. "Fera is rather protective of us. I hope she hasn't caused any harm!"

"Uh…well," Yaebi pointed up as Neil began to fall. Fera extended her arms, catching Neil easily, Neil looking around.

"Oh my, are you okay?" the woman asked, walking around Fera to look over Neil.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine," Yaebi said with a roll of his eyes.

"That was awesome!" Neil finally spoke, startling the woman.

Fera set him on his feet, looking down at him. The woman gave Fera a nudge, giving the golem a stern stare. Fera looked down at her feet and bent down, picking up a rose, offering it to Neil. The woman smiled, adjusting her glasses. "That's Fera's way of saying she's sorry," the woman explained as Neil took the rose, avoiding the thorns on the stem.

"Nah, no harm done," Neil said, looking at the rose. He tucked it into his belt for the time being, once he stripped the thorns off of the stem, just to be safe. He stuck his hand out to Fera, the golem looking at it before gingerly taking it, Neil shaking her arm up and down a bit. "I'm Neil. One of your neighbors, as it were." He let go of Fera's hand and offered it to the woman with glasses, shaking her hand as well.

"Ah, yes, the previous mayor mentioned you!" the woman replied, nodding. "I am Hanna, the head scholar of our little group." She gestured to Fera. "And this is Fera, though you've already met."

"This is my roommate, Yaebi," Neil gestured to Yaebi, who gave a wave and a smile, "and these two are Cupa, and Andr." He pointed at Cupa and Andr respectively, Cupa beaming, while Andr gave a shy wave.

Hanna looked at the two females, leaning in, her left hand raising to hold her glasses in place. "Hmmm." She regarded the two for a bit, before giving a knowing smile. "You two are mobs, right?" She crossed her arms, before raising her right one to rest her cheek on. "A creeper and an enderman?"

The two instantly paled, Yaebi once more moving to stand in front of them, regarding the scholar with a calm smile. "That won't be too much of a problem, will it?"

Hanna merely smiled at him before turning around, gesturing for them to follow. "Fera, would you mind helping Jen? She needs help moving her blacksmithing supplies." Fera nodded and walked off, heading to a stone building, a woman wearing a thick leather apron standing in front of it, waving at Fera. "If you four would be so kind as to follow me."

"Neil," Yaebi whispered, nudging his roommate. "I'm not sure how I feel about her reaction to Cupa and Andr."

"It's probably fine," Neil replied, moving to follow Hanna. "If she was going to do something, I'd like to think she would have done it when Fera was present."

As they followed Hanna through the village, Neil took the time to point out some of the buildings to his two unofficial roommates, though Hanna would occasionally put in a mention that they were changing the use of some of the buildings. After a time, Hanna scratched her head, looking exasperated. "Where _are _those girls at?" she mumbled to herself. Cupping her hands, she called out, "Beina! Seda!" After a few seconds with no answer, she sighed. "Honestly, those two…"

"Um…who are Beina and Seda?" Cupa asked.

"Well, your friend, Yaebi, asked if you two being mobs would be a problem. The two girls I'm trying to find would be a far louder answer than me simply saying 'no'," Hanna explained, giving Neil and the group an apologetic smile. "I'm terribly sorry for dragging you around the village."

"It's fine," Andr quietly said, a small smile on her face. "It was actually really fun, getting to be in a village without being driven out or yelled at. Thank you for showing us around."

"Perhaps you'd like to stay for dinner? It is getting into the evening time and I'm sure everyone else would love to meet our new neighbors!"

Yaebi looked at Neil, who gave a shrug and a smile, before looking at Cupa and Andr, the former holding her stomach. "I think we'll all take you up on that offer," Yaebi answered for the group.

Hanna clapped her hands, beaming. "Oh, wonderful!" she exclaimed. "It won't be much, as we're still finishing the move, but we'll have a vegetable stew and some fresh bread. Our baker should have enough ingredients for a pastry surprise or two, as well!"

Later, they were sitting in what used to be a barn, but was now converted into something of a town hall by the new occupants of the village. The four roomies had been introduced to everyone currently in the village, save for the mayor, Beina, and Seda. There was the blacksmith, Jen, who they had seen earlier in the afternoon, as well as the village doctor, a female by the name of Quinn. The baker, a male testificate going by the name of Ben, had vigorously shaken hands with the four neighbors, welcoming them to the village. There were two farmers, a wed couple in fact, Lis and Jim, who had been setting up the large table. Yaebi asked Hanna if their entire group were humanlike and she had responded in the affirmative. The ones they had been introduced to were simply the forward group, setting up what they considered to be the more important pieces for running the village.

"Ah, Mayor, you're here!" Lis suddenly sang, moving the attention of Neil and his friends to the barn's entrance.

In walked a red headed woman wearing a purple dress, her green eyes taking in Neil, Yaebi, Andr, and Cupa. She walked over to them, giving a slight curtsy. "Welcome," she gently intoned, smiling at them. "Thank you for joining us for dinner. I am Ada, the appointed mayor of this group."

"Hi, Mayor Ada!" Neil boisterously greeted. "I'm-"

"Neil," Ada interrupted. "And your roommate is Yaebi, a zombie, yes?" She giggled softly at Yaebi's shocked expression. "Don't be so surprised, dears. The previous mayor made mention of both of you multiple times in our correspondences." She looked to the two females this time. "And you two must be Cupa and Andr. Fera told me that there were four visitors today."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Andr said, bowing nervously towards Ada, who merely gave a soft laugh.

"A pleasure to you as well, young Andr," Ada replied in kind, bowing her head to the enderwoman. She looked around the barn, frowning in confusion a moment later. "That's strange. Jim, are Beina and Seda not here yet?"

"No, Mayor. Haven't seen 'em all day," Jim replied, putting down the last chair as he passed by.

"Hmm…I would have thought Seda at least would have introduced herself. She was so looking forward to meeting Neil and Yaebi." She tapped at her chin in thought. "Where could those two possibly be?"

"SURPRISE!" came a loud voice from above the clumped group of five. A weight suddenly landed on Neil, nearly knocking him flat on his face. He managed to catch himself, noting that there were now two arms wrapped around his neck. "Wow, you're stronger than you look! Guess it's a good thing I missed the zombie!"

"Hey!" Yaebi barked, indignant.

"Seda!" Neil and company turned to see a gray haired woman at the barn entrance, bent over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. She stood up, adjusting the hat on her head, her twin pigtails swaying behind her as she walked over. The gray jacket she wore was zipped, but it seemed short, revealing her midriff, while her shorts stopped at just below her upper thighs. Her knee high socks appeared to be a bit dirty, mud trailing off of her silver boots. "Honestly, you should know better than to just jump on a guest like that! Not to mention, forcing me to have to chase you down!"

The weight disappeared off of Neil's back as a girl shorter than him walked over to the gray haired woman. This girl was presumably Seda. Her purpled hair was tied up in a ponytail, a black headband with four red, round jewels on it, two on either side. Her longsleeved jacket was zipped up fully, her black short shorts puffy, covering the top of the gray and black horizontally striped stockings she wore. She smirked at the presumably older woman, shrugging. "You didn't have to run through that mud hole, you know," Seda smoothly replied. "Could have just walked around it." She turned to look at Neil's group now, smiling. "Besides, I was just so excited! I couldn't wait to get back to meet Neil and Yaebi! And they have two friends with them!"

"These two are Seda and Beina," Ada said, walking around to stand to the side of the two. Beina bowed, while Seda smiled and held up two fingers in a 'V'. "A spider and skeleton, respectively."

* * *

**Well…not really sure how to proceed from this point with this chapter. I hit my goal, somewhat. Anyways, here's a super rare, slightly longer than usual update for this fic. Hope you all enjoyed!**


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